Chapter 1

Preparing for AdventureIn This Chapter� Exploring the origins and objectives of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

� Looking at the components of the game

� Explaining role of the Dungeon Master

� Examining the things you need to play

� Understanding the different expressions of the game

� Joining a 1st-level game

Everyone played make-believe during childhood. Whether you playedcops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, superheroes, or firefighters, you

opened up your imagination and pretended to be something other than your-self. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a game of the imagination, a roleplaying gamewhere players take on the roles of amazing heroes in a medieval fantasy set-ting. It’s just like make-believe, only more sophisticated, grown up, and fun.D&D gives form and structure to your imagination, creating a leisure activitythat’s more interactive and open-ended than any movie, novel, or computergame.

The backdrop for D&D is a mythological world of fairy tales, epic adventures,and monsters, where heroes gain power and magic to win against all kinds ofchallenges and villains. This backdrop owes much to fantasy novels, includingThe Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, but also to a sort of collectiveconsciousness consisting of material from comic books, TV shows, movies,and other fantasy-related influences. Over the course of 30 years, D&D has, inturn, influenced such media and helped set the stage for the computer gameindustry. This chapter provides an overview of the game and explores some ofthe topics that we discuss in greater detail throughout the book.

What Is D&D?The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS roleplaying game is full of fantastic locations,strange creatures, magic items, treasure, and lots of monsters. Imagine anancient place and time. Imagine a world much like our own, long ago, whenarmored warriors used swords and bows, castles sat atop wooded hills, and

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thatched cottages clumped together here and there across the countryside.Imagine that in this ancient time magic really works, and that humans aren’tthe only intelligent species roaming the land.

D&D lets you explore this imaginary world. With the game, some willingfriends, and your imagination, you strike out on epic quests set in this long-ago place that never existed but is as familiar as your own recollections. TheD&D game lets you participate in the ultimate interactive story. In this story,you and the other players determine what happens next. How does theadventure end? That’s the best part — the ending isn’t determined until youand your character get there!

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The origin of D&DIt started with wargames, a popular pastime inwhich participants re-create famous battles ona tabletop using metal figures. In the mid-1960s,Gary Gygax formed a small group of wargamerswho met regularly and set out to publish newwargames. This led to the development of theChainmail miniatures rules, and by 1971, Gygaxadded supplemental rules that expanded thegame to include fantastic creatures such aselves, dwarves, and monsters.

In 1972, Dave Arneson came to Gygax with a newtake on the traditional wargame. Gone were themassive armies. Each player had a single char-acter, like the “hero” characters in Chainmail. A storyteller ran the game, unfolding a narrativein which the players were free to choose theirown course of action for their characters. Thiswas a cooperative experience, not a competitivewargame, in which the players joined forces todefeat villains and gain rewards.

This combination of miniatures gaming andplayer imagination created a totally new expe-rience. Gygax and Arneson collaborated on aset of rules, but they weren’t able to find a pub-lisher. So in 1974, Gygax formed a company thateventually was called TSR, Inc. and publishedDUNGEONS & DRAGONS himself.

In 1977, the rules were totally rewritten and theoriginal DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Basic Set wasreleased. Sales rose rapidly and the gamebecame a phenomenon. A year later, a new version of the game, Advanced DUNGEONS &DRAGONS, was introduced, published in a seriesof high-quality hardcover books.

The 1980s continued to see remarkable growthfor the game, and new initiatives started duringthis decade. D&D novels were introduced, a car-toon series debuted on Saturday morning TV, andnew fantasy worlds (called campaign settings)for D&D such as DRAGONLANCE and FORGOTTENREALMS appeared. In 1989, the second edition ofAD&D hit the shelves, and the 1990s saw thebirth of even more campaign settings, includingRAVENLOFT, DARK SUN, and PLANESCAPE.

In 1997, TSR changed hands. Wizards of theCoast, makers of the phenomenal trading cardgame MAGIC: THE GATHERING, purchased the com-pany and moved most of the creative staff to itsoffices in Washington state. In 2000, the newestedition of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game wasreleased, and today the game is more popularthan ever. Some 4 million people play D&D everymonth, using their imaginations and having funwith their friends.

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For a number of reasons, D&D is different from other games you may haveplayed:

� The play keeps on going: Like an ongoing television series, your gamecontinues from play session to play session.

� Your character grows as the game goes on: You play a character thatgrows and develops with every adventure he or she participates in.

� The only limit is your imagination: The game offers endless possibilitiesand a multitude of choices because your character can do whatever youcan imagine.

� Everyone wins: Because the game is really a series of stories told collec-tively by the players and the Dungeon Master, D&D is a game whereeveryone wins. If your character survives and wins the day (or diesspectacularly and memorably), and everyone has a good time, then theadventure ends in a win for the group.

Objectives of the D&D GameD&D is a cooperative game, not a competitive one. In other words, you don’tcompete against the other players and you don’t win by beating them. Instead,there are a lot of different ways to “win” the game. The common denominatorin every victory condition is “fun.” If you and the other players have fun, every-one wins a game of D&D.

StorytellingOne way to “win” a D&D game is to help the group tell a fun and excitingstory. Whether you successfully complete your adventure or fail miserably, ifeveryone has a good time and you contribute to creating a story that every-one is going to remember, the group wins.

11Chapter 1: Preparing for Adventure

D&D: It’s good for youA few times over the long history of the DUNGEONS& DRAGONS game, some people have tried toknock it as something silly or even harmful.Nothing could be further from the truth. D&D pro-motes teamwork and socialization. It teachesmath and reading skills. It encourages creativityand imaginative problem solving. It’s uplifting,

inspirational, and thought provoking. And it’s fun,too! You sit in the same room with other people,socialize, and create amazingly deep fantasyworlds in which good battles evil on a regularbasis — and good usually wins out in the end.What could be better than that?

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Adventure goalsEvery adventure contains its own set of victory conditions. Sometimes it’s assimple as surviving the dungeon and escaping, or defeating the boss villain atthe heart of the fortress of evil. Other times, you might have a specific goal toaccomplish (take the evil ring and toss it in the volcano) or a specific monsterto beat (stop the werewolf before it rampages through the town again). If youachieve the objective of the adventure, the group wins.

Character victoriesWhen you begin playing D&D, your character starts out at 1st level — thelowest experience level. Your character wins each time he or she defeatsmonsters and gains experience points and treasure. With each new level yourcharacter gains, he or she increases in power and reputation. Each increasein wealth, power, and equipment is a win for your character.

Looking at the Components of the GameYou need three distinct components to play a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game:

� Players: You need players, usually two to six of them, to take on theroles of adventurers in the fantasy world. The adventurers controlled bythe players are also called heroes or player characters (PCs, for short).

� A Dungeon Master: The Dungeon Master (DM) controls all of the non-player characters (NPCs) — the monsters, villains, and other incidentalcharacters that inhabit the fantasy world. The DM sets the pace of thestory and referees the action as the adventure unfolds.

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A continuing saga . . .Unlike other games, each D&D adventure thatyou play is just one tale in the continuing saga ofyour player character and the other charactersin your group. Of course, you can play a singlegame session and have a great time, but thereal excitement and power of the D&D gamecomes from watching your character improveand develop from one adventure to the next.

This means that events have consequences. Ifyou find a magic weapon or a potion in oneadventure, for example, you can use it in thenext. And that evil necromancer that got away?Watch out! He will return in a future adventureto cause you more trouble, just like charactersin novels, TV series, and movies.

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� An adventure: An adventure is the activity that the player characters par-ticipate in. An adventure usually consists of a basic plot and a number of encounters. As the players (through their characters) interact with theplot and resolve the encounters, they help the DM tell a story. The coolthing is that every action the player characters perform affects the twistsand turns of the plot, so that the outcome of the adventure winds up surprising everyone.

The following sections give more details about all the various parts of theD&D experience.

Players and charactersLike the protagonists of a novel or the heroes of a movie, the action revolvesaround the characters in a D&D game. Each player creates a character (orselects a ready-to-play character, such as the ones presented in Chapters 3, 4,5, and 6), a heroic adventurer who is part of a team that regularly delves intodungeons and battles monsters. These characters include mighty fighters,brave clerics, cunning rogues, and powerful sorcerers. You, as a player, playthe game while your character takes all the risks.

Playing a D&D character is kind of like acting, except everything happensaround the gaming table. You don’t have to deliver lines or perform stunts.Just find a comfortable seat, explain what your character is doing, and rollsome dice. The scene plays out in your imagination and in the imaginationsof the other players.

The Dungeon MasterOne player has a special role in a D&D game. This player, the Dungeon Master(or DM), controls the pace of the story and referees the action along the way. Every D&D game needs a Dungeon Master — you can’t play the gamewithout one.

The cool thing about Dungeon Masters is that they allow the game to betotally interactive and open-ended. Players can have their characters attemptanything they can imagine because there’s a real, live person sitting in theDM’s chair, coordinating the action and determining how every event adds tothe story. The game rules and the dice help, but the DM must use his or herimagination to make the world unfold.

The player who decides to take on the role of the Dungeon Master becomes amember of a select group. Not everyone has the dedication and creativity to bea DM, but those that do have a great outlet in the D&D game. The DM definesthe game his or her group is going to play, and a good DM results in a greatgame of D&D.

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Some groups use multiple DMs, so that everyone gets to run a player charac-ter at some point, and everyone who wants to try their hands at DMing getsthe opportunity. Other groups go for years with the same player serving asDM for every game session. It all depends on the desires of the group and thepersonalities involved.

The adventureThe player characters are the stars of your D&D game, just like the heroes inbooks or movies. They are adventurers, and adventurers need adventures. AD&D adventure features action, combat, mystery, challenges, and lots andlots of monsters. Adventures come in three forms: full-length adventures published specifically for D&D, adventure hooks in published products thatDMs can turn into full-length adventures, and adventures that DMs create forthemselves.

Adventures can be as simple as a basic dungeon crawl or as complex as amurder mystery. An adventure can last for a single game session or stretchout over a number of sessions of play. One adventure might take place in ahaunted castle, another in a crime-ridden village, a third in the catacombsbeneath an ancient graveyard. What makes D&D different from your typicalboard game is that each adventure is just a single tale in the continuing sagaof your player characters. Adventures provide the stage upon which yourplayer characters perform heroic deeds and resolve legendary quests.Anything is possible in a D&D game, and it is through adventures that thepossibilities come alive.

Supplies you needPlayers and characters, a Dungeon Master, and an adventure — these are thebasic components of any DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game. However, you need a few supplies to get the most out of the experience. These things include:

� The D&D game itself

� Special dice

� Character sheets

� Miniatures and battle grids

� Pencils and paper — lots of it

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The D&D gameThis For Dummies book is a great place to start, but eventually you’ll needother products and books to get the most from the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS role-playing game. Beginners should pick up the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Basic Game,which includes the basic rules, dice, and many of the other components dis-cussed in this section, all in one convenient box.

If you want to progress beyond the basics, you’ll need the three core books,all published by Wizards of the Coast, that comprise the full D&D game:

� Player’s Handbook: Presents the rules of the game from the player’spoint of view and provides details on creating characters, outfittingadventurers, and playing the game.

� Dungeon Master’s Guide: Presents the rules of the game from theDungeon Master’s point of view and provides detailed advice on runninggames, creating adventures, sustaining campaigns, and awarding experi-ence to player characters. It also contains a selection of magic items anda fold-out battle grid to enhance play.

� Monster Manual: Presents hundreds of creatures to use in any D&Dgame. From low-level to high-level, friendly to hostile, each creature hasan illustration, game tactics, and statistics for ease of use.

The DM needs all three books, but players can usually get by with just a copyof the Player’s Handbook.

DiceDice are used to determine the outcome of actions in the game. If you wantyour character to try something — such as attack the ogre, disarm the trap,or search for clues — the dice are used whenever the result isn’t a sure thing.The D&D game uses dice of different shapes. Each player should have his orher own set of dice with which to play the game. Players get possessive andprotective of their dice, and having your own set means you can customize it(dice come in all kinds of styles and colors). Game play also proceeds moresmoothly when you don’t have to pass the dice around when sharing amongplayers.

A set of dice for the D&D game includes at least the following (see Figure 1-1):

� One four-sided die (referred to as a d4)

� Four six-sided dice (d6)

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� One eight-sided die (d8)

� Two ten-sided dice (d10)

When these two dice are rolled together, they can produce any digitbetween 01 and 100. For this reason, these two dice are often called percentile dice (d%). Some dice sets include a d90 (a die that has sidesexpressed in tens — 10, 20, 30, and so on) to make rolling percentiledice easier.

� One twelve-sided die (d12)

� One twenty-sided die (d20)

Figure 1-1: The basic dice for D&D.

The d20 determines character success at any given action, while the otherdice determine what happens if an action succeeds.

Character sheetsYour D&D character is defined by a series of key statistics, as well as by thebackground story you create for the character. These statistics and other keyinformation are contained on a character sheet. As your character participatesin adventures, these statistics change.

This book contains a series of basic character sheets that provide ready-to-play characters. These can be found in Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Miniatures and a battle gridWhile most of the action of D&D occurs in the imaginations of the partici-pants, it is often very helpful to display certain information where everyonecan see it. Combat situations, for example, work better when the players andDM know where all the participants are (characters and monsters) in relationto one another. D&D uses a one-inch grid, called the battle grid, to representwhere the action takes place. To represent the characters and monsters, theplayers and DM place miniatures or other markers on the battle grid.

This book contains a sample battle grid and markers to use in your first fewD&D experiences. We discuss the use of these items in Chapter 8.

d4 d6 d8 d10 d12 d20 d90

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Other play surfaces can be found in the Dungeon Master’s Guide and the D&DBasic Game. Official prepainted plastic D&D miniatures can be found in theD&D Basic Game, as well as in D&D Miniatures booster packs, available wher-ever fine hobby games are sold.

Pencils, paper, and graph paperYou’ll want a means for keeping notes and recording important informationduring game play, so have a lot of pencils, scrap paper, and graph paper available. Use the scrap paper for notes about the adventure (write down thenames of NPCs and places, any treasure your character acquires, and any otherdetails that you might forget or think may be important later). One playermight take the role of note keeper, or each player may want to take his or herown notes. Use the graph paper to sketch a map of the area the PCs are explor-ing — players want to map the dungeon as they explore it, while the DM usesgraph paper to design the whole dungeon before the adventurers enter it.

One Game Rule to Rule Them AllThe DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game is built around a core mechanic. This coremechanic is used to resolve all actions in the game, keeping play fast andintuitive.

The Core Game Mechanic: Whenever your character attempts an action thathas a chance of failure associated with it, roll a twenty-sided die (d20). Thehigher the roll, the better the character’s chances of succeeding in that action.

Character actions boil down to three basic types:

� Attack rolls: A roll to determine if your character succeeds at attackinga monster or other opponent. Using a longsword against a monster, forexample, requires an attack roll.

� Skill checks: A roll to determine if your character uses a skill successfully.Using the Climb skill to scale a wall, for example, requires a skill check.

� Ability checks: A roll to determine if your character succeeds at attempt-ing to do something to which no specific skill really applies. Attempting tobash open a dungeon door, for example, requires a Strength ability check.

To determine if any of these actions are successful, follow these steps:

1. Roll a d20.

2. Add any relevant modifiers.

3. Compare the result to a target number.

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If the result equals or exceeds the target number, the action succeeds. Aresult less than the target number indicates that the action fails. Target num-bers, also called the Difficulty Class (or DC) for a particular task or action,come from a variety of places. Some are set by the action itself and aredefined in the rules, while other times, the target numbers are determined bythe Dungeon Master. For more details, see Chapter 7.

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Expressions of D&DThe primary expression of DUNGEONS & DRAGONStakes the form of the D&D roleplaying game(RPG). This is where the whole thing started, andthe RPG is still going strong after 30 years. Thisexpression is presented in the three core rule-books (Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’sGuide, and Monster Manual) and a plethora ofsupplements and accessories that expand theworld of D&D. This For Dummies book focuses onthe RPG experience and tries to make it clearerand easier to get into. But other expressions ofD&D exist. Here are a few that you might want tocheck out:

� DUNGEONS & DRAGONS miniatures: OfficialD&D prepainted plastic miniatures are avail-able for use with the RPG. From hero char-acters to monsters such as bugbears, mindflayers, beholders, and more, a wide selec-tion of the most popular and iconic D&Dcreatures can be found in randomly assortedbooster packs. These miniature figures canalso be used for a more competitive experi-ence, a head-to-head skirmish game whereplayers create warbands of D&D charactersand creatures to throw against each other. If this concept (which goes back to D&D’sroots) interests you, look for the D&DMiniatures Starter Set and Booster Packs.

� DUNGEONS & DRAGONS novels: Wizards of the Coast publishes fantasy novels set in theworlds of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Some of the most popular series include novels set in the FORGOTTEN REALMS and DRAGONLANCEcampaigns, and the young adult KNIGHTS OFTHE SILVER DRAGON series for younger readers.

� Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine :Paizo Publishing, in cooperation withWizards of the Coast, publishes two monthlymagazines dedicated to the DUNGEONS &DRAGONS game. Dragon Magazine provides aplayer’s perspective on the hobby, offeringloads of new options to add to your game.Consider it to be a monthly supplement full ofnew feats, spells, and magic items, as wellas new player character races and prestigeclasses, and tons of roleplaying and tacticaladvice to make any player better at thegame. The companion periodical, DungeonMagazine, is the definitive monthly resourcefor D&D Dungeon Masters. It features DMadvice, dungeon lairs, and ready-to-playadventures that can be dropped into anyD&D campaign. Together, these magazinesare a must-have for serious D&D players andDMs everywhere. You can learn more aboutthese magazines and find subscription infor-mation on the Web at www.paizo.com.

� Computer and console games: You might bemore familiar with DUNGEONS & DRAGONSthrough the computer and video games thathave been released over the years. Thecomputer game industry grew out of thepaper RPGs created by D&D, and today Ataricontinues to publish licensed games set inthe worlds of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Populartitles include Baldur’s Gate, NeverwinterNights, and Temple of Elemental Evil, andmore games for both console platforms andcomputers are on the way.

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Joining a D&D GameThe best way to learn how to play DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is to jump right in. Ifyou know other players who have a regular game, this book provides you witheverything you need to join an existing game. The ready-to-play characters inChapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 are 1st-level characters, completely built and outfittedfor their first adventure. If you want to join a higher-level game, Chapter 9 pre-sents one of these characters at greater levels of experience — specifically, at4th level and at 8th level — giving you a little more latitude in where to start.

If you don’t have an existing game group to join, you’ll have to start yourown. Chapter 9 discusses organizing your own game group.

Whether you join an existing group or start your own, we urge you to getmoving. Every day you wait means one less day of getting in on the fun andexcitement of D&D.

19Chapter 1: Preparing for Adventure

The best place to startOther than this nifty For Dummies book, where’sthe best place to start learning the DUNGEONS &DRAGONS game? Well, we wrote this book to bea great starting point as well as a perfect com-panion to the full D&D game. Don’t be afraid tojust start out using the material in this book.

At some point, however, you need to get one ofthe D&D games. If you’re brand new to the con-cept of roleplaying games, we urge you to buythe DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Basic Game. This jam-packed box includes dice, versatile battle gridtiles, miniatures, and ready-to-play characters.This For Dummies book makes a great compan-ion for learning to play with the Basic Game.

If you have some knowledge and experience withD&D or games like it, you might be ready to leapright into the core rulebooks. This trinity of knowl-edge comes in the form of the Player’s Handbook,

Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual.These volumes are available at fine hobby gamestores and bookstores, and with this ForDummies book at your side, you should have notrouble navigating your way through them. If yougo this route, you’ll need to buy a set of dice too,because the books don’t come with them.

If you’d rather approach the D&D experiencethrough a more competitive expression, checkout the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Miniatures StarterSet. It includes dice and rules for building war-bands full of D&D creatures and heroes, andpresents a straight-forward version of D&D’score game mechanic. The great thing aboutD&D is that if you understand the basics, youcan play either a competitive skirmish game ora cooperative roleplaying adventure.

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